Resource center fills gap after foster care

Nov. 25, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Jared Edmond, 22, aged out of foster care at 18 but was able to get back on his feet with help from the Orangewood Resource Center at the Orangewood Children's Foundation in Santa Ana. The ORC provides young adults with a variety of assistance such as laundry facilities, food and hygiene products. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jared Edmond, 22, left foster care the day after high school graduation. He found help at the Orangewood Resource Center, which provides young adults with a variety of assistance such as laundry facilities, food and hygiene products. “It's a family here,” Edmond said. “When I walk in that door, it's all positive." LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jared Edmond, 22, is able to get basic help at the Orangewood Resource Center at the Orangewood Children's Foundation in Santa Ana. The center offers laundry facilities, as well as computers for job hunting. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Orangewood Resource Center at the Orangewood Children's Foundation in Santa Ana provides young adults with a variety of groceries. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jared Edmond, 22, aged out of foster care at 18 but was able to get back on his feet with help from the Orangewood Resource Center, which opened in 2003 and is run by Orangewood Children's Foundation, a Santa Ana nonprofit serving current and former foster children. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jared Edmond, 22, gets help with basic needs like groceries at Orangewood Resource Center, run by Orangewood Children's Foundation. ORC helps former foster children by offering a hot meal, laundry facilities and a place for guidance. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Orangewood Resource Center at the Orangewood Children's Foundation in Santa Ana provides young adults with a variety of hygiene products. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jared Edmond, 22, uses the laundry at Orangewood Resource Center. When he needed clothes for a job interview last spring, the center was able to loan him an outfit. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jared Edmond, 22, aged out of foster care at 18 but was able to get back on his feet with help from the Orangewood Resource Center. “He's a leader,” said Lisa Evans, a resource center coordinator. “He takes initiative. When he came in here, he said he needed help. I asked him if he was serious about it. I told him, ‘You have to come in every day until you find a job.' He came in every day.” LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Jared Edmond, 22, aged out of foster care at 18 but was able to get back on his feet with help from the Orangewood Resource Center at the Orangewood Children's Foundation in Santa Ana. The ORC provides young adults with a variety of assistance such as laundry facilities, food and hygiene products.LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – Jared Edmond entered foster care as a helpless newborn and exited as a hapless young adult, left on his own the day after graduating from high school.

With nowhere to go, Edmond slept in a friend's car and showered at Santa Ana College before going to class.

Edmond, 22, was growing weary when he discovered the Orangewood Resource Center. Five days a week, former foster children who have aged out of the system can drop in to eat a hot meal, search for jobs on the computer or do their laundry.

"It's a family here," Edmond said. "When I walk in that door, it's all positive. They give me open arms here. They give me love. I come here to listen and learn and get what I need to get done."

The resource center opened in 2003 and is run by Orangewood Children's Foundation, a Santa Ana nonprofit serving current and former foster children. The foundation is one of eight charities selected to receive funds from The Orange County Register's 2011 Season of Caring campaign.

Edmond said his father was in prison when his mother, a drug addict, gave birth. When he was 5 months old, his dad picked him up from Orangewood Children's Home, the county's emergency shelter. He lived with him until his dad returned to prison to serve a life sentence.

In his most recent placement with a relative, Edmond said he was kicked out once he was no longer a ward of the state.

"I don't ask why," Edmond said. "I just know I'm still here."

Edmond has come a long way since his first visit to Orangewood Resource Center in August 2010. He's signed the attendance log more than 120 times.

"He's a leader," said Lisa Evans, a resource center coordinator. "He takes initiative. When he came in here, he said he needed help. I asked him if he was serious about it. I told him, 'You have to come in every day until you find a job.' He came in every day."

They started with the basics. Edmond needed a copy of his birth certificate, identification and a Social Security card, items sometimes lost in the shuffle of foster care. Evans showed him what to do.

Last spring, he got the opportunity he'd been waiting for – a job interview.

"Lisa said, 'Jared, put some clothes on and I'm going to drop you off right now,'" Edmond said.

He borrowed black dress pants, shoes and a purple shirt from the center's wardrobe closet. Evans drove him to wait in line outside a new restaurant opening in downtown Santa Ana.

After a second interview, he's now worked there nine months washing dishes and prepping food. With a paycheck, he started renting a room.

"Lisa is like the mom I never had," Edmond said. "I wish she was my mom. She sits me down. She talks to me. That's what I needed in my life."

Edmond loves music and dreams of opening a recording studio. He also wants to eventually transfer to Cal State Fullerton and study business and marketing.

"I want to give back to Orangewood Resource Center financially one day," he said. "I want to give back by not falling off and not failing myself."

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